1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiments relate to methods for interfacing with a computing device, and more specifically, methods, systems, and computer programs for using image recognition to interface with the computing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Projected or augmented-reality user interfaces are becoming more widespread, but today's interfaces are limited and need to become easier to use for a wider acceptance by users. For example, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) may be projected onto a surface in the real world and the user must interface with the projection to perform GUI operations. Also, an augmented-reality (AR) device presents a mixture of real objects with virtual objects, and the user must be able to interface with both real and virtual objects to provide a credible AR feeling.
The problem with these projected or AR user interfaces is that they can be displayed on arbitrary surfaces like tables, walls, clothing, etc., and the lighting on the objects may interfere with the operation of the user interfaces. For example a user may want to dial a phone number by pressing virtual buttons on a virtual keypad that is projected onto a wall. However, detecting user interactions with these virtual interfaces is challenging. Existing technologies try to measure the position of the hands and fingers in the real world and correlate that to the virtual world of the graphical interface. However, these methods are approximating that a person is actually pressing near where the button exists, and produce false positives when a finger merely hovers over a button instead of actually pressing the button.
It is in this context that these embodiments arise.